How We Love
by pagetcookgubler
Summary: AU. "She had told him it was because of him that they found them before they could hurt anyone else. He smiled and said she was being ridiculous, that it was a team effort, but he couldn't help the feeling that rose in his chest at her words." In no particular order, a series of drabbles and oneshots for Spencer Reid and Maura Isles.


**AU. Takes place during early season eight.**

* * *

Chapter One

 _"_ _Throughout this journey of life, we meet many people along the way._ _Each one has a purpose in our life. No one we meet is ever a coincidence."_

 _―_ _Mimi Novic_

* * *

They'd met during a case in Boston. A serial killer was abducting pregnant women and performing C-sections before killing them and taking their babies. She quickly deduced he had to have some medical knowledge – perhaps a pediatrician and most definitely a surgeon.

She had told him what she found immediately and he had Garcia go through all the employees but when she didn't find anything suspicious, they knew they'd missed something. It was only a matter of finding out what it was. He'd figured out what it was the next day.

 _"I think it's a team."_

And sure enough, it was. They caught them in three short days, which, for the BAU, was nothing short of a miracle. She had told him it was because of him that they found them before they could hurt anyone else.

He smiled and said she was being ridiculous, that it was a team effort, but he couldn't help the feeling that rose in his chest at her words. He loved his team, they were really all he had, but rarely did they congratulate him when he came to those types of conclusions, if only because it was what they expected from him at this point.

He certainly wasn't expecting to – literally – run into her a month later in DC. His team was working late on a local case. Someone had been killing children and dumping them on the side of the road. They'd pulled an all-nighter and needless to say, their cognitive skills were beginning to lessen.

He'd offered to go on a coffee run to the Starbucks across the street. When he'd turned around with the tray of coffees in his hands, he bumped into the woman and he'd thanked his lucky stars that they hadn't ended up wearing the scalding hot beverages. He wasn't sure if he was happier because he hadn't burned an innocent woman or because if he'd returned to Rossi empty-handed, he'd probably curse him out in Italian in front of everyone in the BAU. "Sorry. I'm so sorry. I didn't see you."

"Dr. Reid?"

Spencer looked up from the tray that, by some miracle, didn't end up on the floor. He recognized her immediately, courtesy of his eidetic memory. Her highlighted hair was shorter, and she was dressed in a pair of jeans, sneakers and an old t-shirt instead of the expensive dress and heels she'd worn the last time he saw her, her face free of makeup, but it was definitely her. She'd looked better than ever. "Dr. Isles, hi." He used one hand to rub the back of his neck awkwardly, before clearing his throat. "You look good."

"Thanks." She smiled, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. "You look…tired." She quickly added as an afterthought, "But good. You look good too."

"Thanks. Thank you." He cleared his throat again. "What are you doing here? In DC, I mean, not Starbucks. You're obviously here for coffee, although I suppose you could be meeting someone, but the distance from Boston to DC is 439.4 miles away and it seems like a long way to…" He was cut off by her fingertips brushing across his arm, and he looked at her apologetically. "Sorry."

"It's okay." She smiled reassuringly at him, her hand falling back to her side. "I'm here for a medical examiner's convention." She motioned towards the tray of coffee cups. "Either you really like coffee, or you're working a case."

"Both, actually." Reid smiled, but Maura noticed it didn't quite reach his eyes. "I should actually get back. You don't want to get on Rossi's bad side." He smiled when Maura chuckled, before freeing one of his hands from the tray to give her a small wave.

"Spencer?"

Reid turned around when she called his name, but she was closer than he expected – their faces were inches apart, and he could feel the heat rise in his cheeks when he realized he could smell her shampoo.

"I'm in town until Friday. Would you like to grab some dinner once your case is over?"

He cleared his throat and gripped the tray tighter. He frowned, his eyebrows furrowing in confusion. He noticed her face fell and she started to back away.

"Never mind. I'm sorry. It was silly of me to…"

Spencer shook his head, reaching out to grab her hand before she could leave. "No!" He let go of her hand when she turned back around, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly. "I'm sorry. It's just…I'm not usually the type of guy that women want to have dinner with."

Maura cracked a gentle smile of understanding as she glanced down at the ground. "I understand," she confessed. Two words, and yet they were enough to suddenly trigger a rush of scarlet to flood her slim cheeks. Absently, she skimmed her thumb over the lid of her own drink.

After a moment of silence – less awkward than they had both thought it would be – Reid changed the subject, a ghost of a smile playing on his lips when he said, "Do you like Indian? There's this great little restaurant a few blocks away that I've been meaning to try out."

Maura returned the smile and nodded. "I'd love that." She grabbed a napkin from the unoccupied table next to her, and dug out a pen from her purse, scribbling her number down and handing it to Spencer. "Call me when the case is over and we can work something out."

Reid nodded, his smile growing wider. He took the napkin from Maura and stuffed it in his pocket – the last thing he needed was the rest of the team badgering him about his love life. He gave one last wave in her direction and left the coffee shop to return to work.

That evening, he'd slipped away and called Emily – because she was stuck at home with hers and Morgan's colicky infant, so grilling him about who the mystery woman was had been out of the question. He'd told her that he met someone and wasn't sure what the proper date etiquette was. He told her that he normally wouldn't spend so much time attempting to impress a woman, but he thought she was special and he didn't want to blow it.

She gave him the generic response:

 _"Just be yourself, Spencer. She'd be a fool not to like you."_

He thought that, on the contrary, she'd be a fool to like someone like him. He had a million and one questions – the most important one being, "What if she doesn't like Sir Arthur Conan Doyle?" He'd heard her scoff on the other end of the line before she responded.

 _" **That** might just be a deal breaker."_

Spencer let out a small laugh before his face became serious again. "You won't tell the team, will you? I don't know if I want them to know yet. I want to see how things work out first."

 _"Of course. I understand. Your secret's safe with me and Julia. Good luck, Reid. Let me know how it goes."_

He'd hung up with Emily after that, his mind preoccupied with what she called pre-date jitters for the rest of the case. Two days later, they'd finally caught the unsub and Hotch had sent them home for some rest before they got called back in.

He spent – what he thought – way too long trying to decide the proper attire. He'd finally settled on a button-down shirt with a sports jacket and tie with khakis and dress shoes, before meeting her at the restaurant.

She talked about her job, about Jane and Angela, about her coworkers. She'd listened while he told her about his team, his mother and of course, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. They'd talked about anything and everything that came to mind, and when he'd returned home, he couldn't wait to call Emily and tell her every little detail.

He'd told her he thought he found the one.

In hotel room four blocks away, Maura was having a similar conversation with Jane.


End file.
